Kickstarter: Tiny Epic Western

With the launch of their fourth game in the series kicking off today, it seemed appropriate to talk about Gamelyn Games and their next Tiny Epic game, Tiny Epic Western.

I am a Kickstarter junkie, and have backed quite a few games, as have many of my friends. It is a dangerous move, but so far I have not been left gameless or sorely disappointed with my purchases. One way to ensure an enjoyable Kickstarter experience is to go with reliable companies. There is some debate here as to whether established publishers should be using Kickstarter, but there are many that are small companies run out of people's homes and they need to capital to produce a new game so in that regard I am not really upset with their use of the platform.

Now, Gamelyn Games is one of those small publishers. Founded by Michael Coe, who has previous publishing experience with Crash Games before amicably splitting to pursue different visions, Gamely Games hit the ground running with their Kickstarter for Tiny Epic Kingdoms. the first installment of what would become a series of small, portable, strategic games. They flew past their goal in 1 day, and ended with 19x more than they needed from 8,979 backers. From then on the series was a success, and I just can't resist backing each new installment!

For those not familiar, the Tiny Epic series is focusing on small, portable, euro-style games. Their tag line is "tiny box, epic gameplay" and that is exactly what they produce. Designer Scott Almes puts a lot of work into his games and it shows. Each game comes in a 4x6 box, about the size of a large pencil case and easily fit into a cargo pant pocket (or stocking!), but packs enough punch for even serious gamers. With an average play time of 30-60 minutes these are great games to bring out and about, or introduce new gamers to a genre. The components so far have always been of great quality, and at the speed with which they fund there are so many cool stretch goals to be had with the Kickstarter versions. These games also get produced fairly quickly n_~

Tiny Epic Western combines worker placement with poker, and very strongly encourages player interaction/conflict. Each player gets a unique character card, accumulates property, invests in stocks, and manages a posse. Every bit of this game really gets you into the theme, from a wagon wheel set-up to mini poker hands every round. There are even special bullet shaped dice! If you are mildly interested in this series, check out their Kickstarter. The game is a steal at $18.


Learn more about the publisher & series:
Gamely Games
Tiny Epic Kingdoms & Hero's Call (expansion)
Tiny Epic Defenders
Tiny Epic Galaxy
Tiny Epic Western (Kickstarter Jan 11-Feb 6, 2016)